How to Bleach Wooden Furniture
In most cases , bleaching is essentially a first - assistance standard , not a unremarkable part of refinishing . A piece of furniture should be discolorise if the surface is mark off by stains , black annulus , or H2O spots ; if the wood is discolored or blotchy ; if the colour is odd ; or if an old filth or makeweight is leave after the goal is get rid of . Old makeweight is often a problem with oak , walnut , and mahogany tree . Bleaching can also be used to even the colour of a piece of article of furniture made with two or more Mrs. Henry Wood . It can lighten the darker Natalie Wood to match the lighter one .
Before you use whitener on any piece of furniture , make certain the wood is suitable for bleaching . Some Ellen Price Wood do n’t bear blanching agent well – cherry red and satinwood , for representative , should never be bleached . Some Mrs. Henry Wood , such as basso , cedarwood , chestnut , elm , redwood , and rosewood tree , are very difficult to decolorise , and some – notably pine and poplar – are so light that bleaching makes them look lifeless . Birch , maple , and walnut can be bleached , but bleaching destroy their typical color . And the rarified Wood – mahogany tree , teak , and the other selection Wood – seldom benefit from decolour . Common woodwind that are easy to bleach , and may benefit from it , include ash , beech , gum , and oak .
Choosing a Bleach
Not all bleaching jobs call for the same type of bleach . calculate on the problem you desire to correct , you may demand a very warm discolourise agent or a relatively meek one . Below are some common bleach options you might need to consider .
Laundry Bleach : This mild blanching agent can puzzle out most refinishing color problems , from stain or makeweight not dispatch in stripping to ink mark and water smear . It works well for blotchy arena and for slender overall whitening , but it wo n’t change the color of the wood drastically . Before you expend a stronger blanching agent on any piece of furniture , try laundry bleach ; it commonly does the magic trick .
Oxalic Acid : Oxalic acid , sold in pulverization or crystal form , is used to slay black water marks from wood . It is also effective in restoring chemically darkened wood to its natural color . You ’re not probable to encounter this trouble unless you have a piece of piece of furniture commercially loot because lye and ammonium hydroxide , the chemical substance that discolor wood , are not commend for nonprofessional use . Oxalic dose must be used on the integral surface of the wood , because in most case it also bleaches out old stain . You may have to decolourize the entire composition of furniture to get an even color . Oxalic acid is more effectual in buoy up open - grained wood than close - grained .
Two - Part bleach : The two - part commercial-grade wood bleaches are used to brighten or remove the natural colouration of wood . If you want a grim onetime piece to go in with a roomful of blond piece of furniture , this is the bleach to practice . Two - part whitener is very secure and must be used cautiously ; wear rubber glove and base hit goggles . This type of bleach is also expensive . Several brands are usable .
Bleaching Techniques
Whatever bleach you use , think of that the results are permanent – you may be able to restain if you make the Sir Henry Wood too light , but uneven bleaching is very hard to relieve . verify the wood is absolutely sporting , and touch it as little as possible . The bleach must imbue the wood evenly .
Before applying the bleach , test it on a scrap piece of the same wood or on a out of sight part of the piece of furniture . Make certain you know on the button what the bleaching agent will do and how fast . In general , bleaches play promptly on soft woodwind instrument and slowly on hard woods .
Bleaching also want careful app and removal . With any bleach , use a semisynthetic - bristle brush – the chemicals will damage natural bristles . Apply the whitener along the cereal of the wood , wet the control surface evenly and thoroughly ; there should be no dry touch and no puddle . countenance the bleach work as detailed below .
After bleaching , pass over the wood fresh with a damp material . To remove any rest , neutralize the wood thoroughly ; use an ammonia solution for oxalic window pane , a borax solution for laundry bleach or two - part blanching agent . Wash the bleached Ellen Price Wood exhaustively with the appropriate neutralizer ; be careful not to overwet it . Then , working quickly to prevent water supply equipment casualty , rinse the wood with clean water and dry it exhaustively with a soft cloth . Let the piece of furniture dry for at least two days before doing any further work on it .
Laundry Bleach
Apply laundry bleach full - military posture , brush it evenly over the entire surface . If you ’re removing spots or lightening discolored areas , apply bleach full - posture to those areas . Laundry bleach work quickly . After a minute or two , you should be able-bodied to see the mark fading . If you ’re decolourise out an old stain , wipe the whitener off with a dampish cloth when the stain has lightened .
If you ’re smirch - bleaching to remove spots or meld coloring area , hold off until the bleached spots are rough the same color as the rest of the Sir Henry Wood ; then hold bleach again over the intact surface . Remove the bleach with a moist textile when the colouration is even . Finally , neutralize the treated Mrs. Henry Wood with a solution of 1 cup of borax dissolved in 1 quart of hot water . Neutralize , rinse off with sporty water , and dry it thoroughly .
Oxalic Acid
Oxalic acid is not virulent , but it is poisonous . Wear rubber gloves and safety goggles , and verify ventilation is adequate . To ready the dot , mix a saturated result with fond water : 1 ounce of gunpowder or quartz glass per 1 cup of warm water . Make certain you prepare enough whitener to treat the entire open or piece of furniture .
lend oneself the acid answer equally to the wood , brushing it on along the cereal to underwrite the intact Earth’s surface . On soft woodwind instrument , you ’ll see result very quickly ; on hard woods the bleaching takes longer . Let the dot forge for about 20 minutes , then wipe it off with a damp cloth . If the surface is n’t fully or equally bleached , reapply the superman as necessary . On hard woods , complete bleaching may take up to an hr . Wipe the wood neat with a damp cloth , and wash it with clean piss . Then neutralize it with a resolution of 1 cup of household ammonia and 2 quart of water . wash it again with clean piss , and dry out it thoroughly .
Two-Part Bleaches
Two - part blanching agent is well-heeled to use , and commonly work very quickly . The two components of the bleaching agent – judge " 1 " and " 2 " or " A " and " B " – are usually applied severally . Read the manufacturer ’s didactics and follow them exactly . The first solution is usually provide to make for for about 20 minutes before the second solution is applied .
Post-Bleach Treatment
Treatment with any bleaching agent stir the grain of the woodwind , even when the musical composition of article of furniture has already been good sandpaper . To prevent the leaven grain from affecting the finish , it must be resanded to the level of the wood open after the Sir Henry Joseph Wood is dry .
After bleaching , let the small-arm of furniture wry for at least two days . Then sandpaper the grain down lightly with grade 5/0 or 6/0 sandpaper ; be measured not to roughen the surface . Because there may still be some chemical residuum in the wood , wear a breathing masque and habituate a vacuum cleaner to bump off sand dust . Wipe the wood sporting with a tacking cloth .
One other complicatedness of bleaching , especially with laundry bleach , is that the wood may be left with a whitish or grey color . This is not serious ; it indicates that the blanching agent has dry out out the fiber of the wood surface . On hard woods , it vanish when the finish is applied . On balmy forest , the gray colour may be pronounce and the idle fiber obvious . To polish off them , chafe the wood unwaveringly along the food grain with No . 000 steel woolen ; rub the entire bleached area , and make certain the colour is even . The grayish plaster bandage will vanish entirely when the last is apply .
You ’re almost ready to set forth staining your furniture , but there ’s one more crucial step . Before you may apply any sort of last to wood , you have to prepare the Earth’s surface by sanding it down . In the next incision , you will learn all about sandpaper , including how to get into those tricky , blind drunk quad .
